Small boats, such as bass boats and the like, can be provided with fairly large outboard motors and can reach speeds of up to 100 miles per hour. These speeds are often obtained during bass fishing contests when the bass boats race to reach a preferred fishing location. Other recreational boats can similarly be equipped with outboard motors which allow them to obtain speeds in the 60 to 70 mile per hour range. At such high speed there is a danger of contact with objects just below the surface of the water such as a submerged log or other impediment often found in rivers and lakes.
Outboard motors are pivotally mounted on the transom of the boat for rotation of the drive mechanism, particularly the propeller, above the surface of the water or above the ground for towing, launching and recovering the boat. At high speed should the drive mechanism contact a submerged object, such as a log, the impact will cause the motor to violently rotate or flip and if the impact is severe enough the motor will be torn from the transom may actually be flipped into the boat. Since the motor will be running when this occurs the occupant of the boat can be fatally or seriously injured by the propeller. A listing of motor flip accidents compiled in July 2014 lists 63 motor flip accidents and reports 9 fatalities. Even if there is no injury to occupants of the boat the damage to the boat and motor is expensive and in some cases the motor does not flip into the boat but is thrown into the water resulting in the loss of an expensive motor.